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Studies in Chinese Ritual and Ritual Theatre: A Bibliographical Report Ch'iu Kuei Wang National Tsinghua University The performance of rituals with the wish to expel evil spirits and to draw in prosperity is a universal phenomenon. Such rituals are usually seasonal in character although they are also performed at crucial moments in life, such as weddings, funerals, or birthday celebrations. In both cases the underlying idea is to do away with the old and to welcome the new. These rituals may be conducted by lay persons, but in most cases they are undertaken by specialists such as shamans or priests who are believed to have power to communicate with the spirit world. In the West, ritual studies were originally, a part of religious studies. Around 1982 ritual and ritual related performances became an area of study in their own right, with an interdisciplinary approach spanning the fields of anthropology, sociology, religion, history, literature and the arts. Unlike theology which focuses upon the doctrinal contents, ritual studies emphasize the social and cultural meanings reflected in the actual performance. Through observation of the movements performed during the ritual, scholars investigate the psychology and intentions of the participants and the interactive effects of ritual and social environment. Since ritual performance involves distinctive patterns of movement and gesture, ramification into studies of theatre and dance is inevitable. In China, the study of ancient sacrifice and ritual has always been an important area of Sinology (see bibliographies in Derk Bodde 1975 and K.C. Chang 1983). Recently the attention of Chinese and Western scholars has turned to the study of contemporary sacrifice and rituals. Since the early 1980's much work has been done in the PRC on nuo theatre (masked ritual drama) and conferences have been held in successive years in Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Anhui, Shanxi, Sichuan and Yunnan. Another CHINOPERL Papers No. 18 (1995) C 1995 by the Conference on Chinese Oral and Performing literature, Inc. CHINOPERL Papers No. 18 type of ritual theatre, the Mulian drama, has also been the subject of a recent wave of interest Beginning in 1984 international conferences have been held in Hunan, Anhui, Fujian and Sichuan. In August of 1987 the University of California, Berkeley held an international work shop on Mulian operas (Johnson ed. 1989).As a result of these activities in the last ten years, scholars inside and outside China have produced an impressive array of publications on contemporary Chinese religious ritual and related forms of theatre. In Taiwan, the subject of popular beliefs has always been an important area of research for ethnologists, folklorists and and anthropologists (Lin Mei-jung 1991). In May 1985 the Chinese Ethnological Society and the Taiwan Provincial Department of Civil Affairs organized the Conference of Chinese Popular Religion and Ritual. This was followed by the International Conference on Popular Beliefs and Chinese Culture in April 1993, organized by the Center for Chinese Studies. In both conferences there were many papers dealing with the relationship between theatre and ritual. In May 1994 another Conference on Chinese Ritual and Ritual Theatre was organized by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences of National Tsinghua University, the Center for Chinese Studies and the Shih Ho-cheng Folk Culture Foundation. This conference was held in the National Central Library in Taipei and lasted three days. In Taiwan, publications of research on ritual and ritual theatre have been considerable. For example, in November 1985 and January 1986 the bimonthly journal Minsu Quyi published by the Shih Ho-cheng Folk Culture Foundation devoted two special issues (nos. 38 and 39) to Theatre and Religion. Subsequently seveml special issues were published: Chinese Nuo Drama and Nuo Culture (nos. 77, 78 May and July 1992); Proceedings of the International Conference on Chinese Nuo Drama and Nuo Culture (nos. 84, 85 July and September 1993); and Proceedings of the Conference on Chinese Ritual and Ritual Theatre (nos. 90, 92, July, September, November 1994). The publications cited above indicate that of all Chinese ritual forms, the ancient nuo exorcism, performed since classical times at the end of the lunar year to expel noxious influences and pestilence, has attracted the greatest scholarly attention. However, other rituals such as spring...

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